Revelations
by Furiouswind
Summary: War never changes, nor does it end. Gain or loss, you will continue. Forced on by will and determination to seek the truth. But the truth? War will never have a truth.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: It's been so long since i've actually posted something...... and i start off from this long break with a new story for Fallout 3. Why am i doing this anyway? Hmm.... not sure. But i've started writing this after i've finished the main game, which was.... four days after it first came out? And after some debate, and major editing, i decided to post it. Note: I did complain about the main quest ending so abrutly, and i ranted it on my blog, saying how they could have extended it by having you fight against the Enclave.... and what do you know? They actually announced an expansion of such. Do NOT say i copied their idea. I think that such an expansion was inevitable.... almost everyone would agree. I didn't expect an Anchorage expansion though, but it sounds nice.... i haven't played it yet since for SOME REASON, Canada isn't allow to download that DLC yet.... I WONDER WHY.

For those who do not know my style, i really dislike flames. Got something that you don't like about my work? DON'T READ IT. No one forced you. Just close your internet browser, and walk away.

My character is mainly good, with a scout/sniper build. So i'm basing around that. Though i may be restricting myself, and slightly bais, i am asian, so my character is asian (it just seems easier to write with that image in mind). I'll explain after a few chapters get some reviews. Please note i'm writing from memory, so things may not be.... erm.... the same? I'll try to remember as much as i can, though.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Fallout 3, or anything from the Fallout universe. That belongs to... er... who was it again? Bethesda Studios? What an odd name.... And how do you pronounce that? ..... Be-thes-da? Is that even English?!

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_**Fallout 3**_

_**Revelations**_

**Chapter1: Fades of the Past**

She had never given up hope once. She had always believed in him. In his ideals, his words, his actions. She didn't doubt him once. Though her heart broke when he left her alone that one fateful day without a word. Why? Why did he go? He was all she had left, and for him to suddenly disappear on her like that. She knew at that moment when she heard of his disappearance, that nothing was going to be same. She had long left the safety of the metallic place she had once called home.

Where the walls felt so restricting that she wouldn't be surprised if they suddenly collapsed on her one day. The moment she stepped out into the open sunlight, squinting her eyes against the glare of the giant ball of fire in the sky, she knew that her life was going to change in more ways than she could ever imagined. She pressed onwards, through the wasteland that once held the glory of this nation. She was nothing more than a simple wanderer, exploring a place she never knew existed.

What she learned from within the Vault held little value out in this land of vultures. Out here, the strong in body and will would prevail. She had to learn that the hard way. Struggling with each step she made, guilt tormenting her with every choice that she came across. But she held on strong with her beliefs that he had taught her.

Nothing had gone to waste. With his words and teachings rooted deep within her, she forged a path through the wasteland, determined to uncover the truth, and hopefully be with him once more. She had met many along the way, learning more about the past, and what had happened in the real world while she slept peacefully in the safety of the underground vault. She had no idea of what had happened, or what to expect when she stepped out of the vault and into the sun.

But what she did know, was that there were people who needed her help, and she could help them. And she did. Her name soon spread across the wasteland, her deeds being repeated by the chorus of young children. She was well-known, a savior albiet a rather oblivious to reality kind. The innocent praised her as an angel, while the corrupt had scorned her and sought to end her life. And yet she pushed on.

Following the leads she gathered on where he had gone, she went through the entire wasteland. She became well learned in who was in need of help, and who were in desperate need of a permenant face fixture. She no longer was just a simple 'Vault Kid', but rather, a member of the Wasteland. She broke down corrupted organizations, helped rebuilt towns, rescued people, aiding those who could not fend for themselves. While most of these were only when she chanced upon them, the people were more or less gratefully.

But she had her share of trouble. Facing off against raiders on a daily basis, almost having her head cut off and her body become their new play thing, and using more stimpacks than a drug addict to heal her wounds. She almost became dinner for a gang of Super Mutants when she tried to rescue a captive, but was caught off-guard from behind by a Super mutant who was in hiding. Although the captive escaped, she didn't. If luck were to have it, a group of armoured people arrived and rescued her before she became dinner.

Black armoured soldiers calling themselves the 'Outcast' were rather reluctant to save her, and it only just so happened that they passed by. She would establish a good friendship with them later, as well as the the group they originally broke off from, the Brotherhood of Steel. She remembered Paradise Falls well, with Slavers patrolling about. She walked in there as a 'customer', and made 'deals' to get the salves free, but when the slavers found out, she became their next slave. When she was 'sold' to a rather perverse rich man, she took the chance to escape.

At least her mechanical and engineering skills were good. Disarming the explosive collar on her neck was easy enough to do, and escaping her 'owner' was even easier. She always had a knack for sneaking around. She remembered sneaking into the Overseer's office in the Vault when she was still young, and stealing back some of the toys the Overseer 'confiscated'. Speaking of the Vault, she wondered how her good friend Amata was doing.

She went back immediately when she heard the distress call, and helped Amata gain control of the Vault. Though she understood the previous Overseer's concern, she managed to convince him that what he was doing was wrong, though it took a lot of persuasion on her part as she wasn't exactly welcomed back in the vault with open arms. But after that, she was forever exiled, and by Amata herself. Well, she understood what Amata meant, and left without a word of complaint. But she still worried for her dear friend.

Back in the Wasteland, she encountered many different forms of life, and soon had 'friends' that followed her. A dog aptly named 'Dogmeat', was found when she chanced upon him attacking raiders. She found him intelligent and loyal, and overall a good companion. Though he tends to stick his nose into things she wouldn't. But with him by her side, she didn't feel all that alone in the Wastelands. While she found herself easily side-treaked, she did not once forget her true goal.

Maybe once, when she discovered her new favourite past-time of gathering junk to build more things. She remembered when she first held her own made weapon. It wasn't anything fancy, just fired rail-way spikes at high velocity, able to puncture steel, bricks, concrete, and anything that stood before her and her objective.

She still hadn't figured out a safety catch, as evident when she accidently sent one flying into the head of a raider who was on his knees begging for mercy. She also had a knack for collecting clothing, maybe stemming from the fact that she was born biologically female, or maybe because she was so used to having her clothes wear and tear easily that she used those extra clothes to repair her current ones.

Those were good times. Jumping for joy when she finally tweaked her sniper rifle into perfect condition, if it weren't for all of that duct-tape. But her greatest joy was when she finally found him. Her father. The one who left her that fateful night and turned her world into chaos. She rescued him from the nightmare of a virtual simulator, and the hands of a sadistic, mad, cross-dressing, pedophile with a thick german accent, who just so happened to be a scientific genius.

If she ever had to meet that weird nutter again, she swore she was going to do more than punch him/her in the nose and pull his/her hair out like she did before escaping the mad world of Alice in Wonderland sort of place. Of course, while in the simulator, she didn't realize her father was the dog. She simply thought that Dogmeat somehow managed to get into the simulator. But she was wrong, and felt embarrassed by the fact that she actually patted her dad on the head and called him 'good-boy'. A fact her father couldn't stop talking about as they made their way back to Rivet City, the city on the sea.

While her father meant no ill-will, she on the other hand, could just die right there. Though her father was angry at her at first for leaving the Vault, he easily forgave her when she presented her argument. Exactly, she blamed him for leaving without telling her, for with-holding secrets from her, and most of all, betraying her trust. Father had no comeback and daughter had the first sweet victory against her own parent. She felt accomplishment in finally being able to rebel against her father, who throughout her years growing up, was too accomodating to her that she never really felt any reason to rebel.

Odd accomplishment, but otherwise very memorable. But that was when everything went downwards once more. Her father was about to finally start up his project once more, and finally able to complete it! But some devil in a white coat thought it would be funny to shoot his way in. Her father tried to protect his project, and in one last ditch effort, sacrificed himself by releasing deadly radiation into the main chamber. Her father died trying to protect what he, and her mother dreamed of. And she would take his place. Fueled by sadness, anger, bitterness, hatred, she moved on. She had to complete her father's mission. And with the help of the Brotherhood of Steel, things became easier.

She met a Paladin who onced helped her father across the wastelands. And this Paladin was willing to help her too. Her father was greatly respected amongst the Brotherhood, and the Knights and Paladins were all too willing to help her. The most elite group in the Citadel, the stronghold for the Brotherhood in this area, known as the Lyon's Pride, led by Elder Lyon's own daughter, Sarah, were her closest source of comfort. They easily accepted her into their ranks, after saving their lives once within the D.C. area from a Super Mutant Behemoth.

Still, though she felt better amongst the armoured clad soldiers, she still felt the bitterness swell up side her. She knew the Enclave was behind the attack on her father's project, and she was determined to find them, and end all of their lives. She did not care if she had to be the devil herself to do that, she would find them, and see to it that they were personally executed one by one by her own hand. She tracked down what was needed for her father's project to work, a G.E.C.K., inside a broken vault swarmed with Super Mutants.

She knew that the Vaults were not there to provide safety for people, but were designed as enclosed experiments for the Enclave, the remnants of the Government who still pride themselves in being the true leaders. She knew it all when she broke into Vault-Tec's office. The computers, though mostly broken and covered with more dust than inside of a vacuum cleaner, provided her with everything. But she did not expect what she came to see. Vault 87 was the breeding ground for the Super Mutants. She did not want to believe, but still came to terms with the harsh realities that she faced. Killing the mutants inside, she chanced upon a strange sight.

An intellectual, and passive Super-Mutant. Maybe not completely passive, but she realized that he wasn't like other Super Mutants. And actually, he was considered a failure, or outsider to the rest, who did not give a second thought to try to bash her skull in and drink her fluids. This one was called 'Fawkes'. An interesting choice of name, though she did not know of the actual importance of the name till she looked it up herself. In exchange for rescuing him from his imprisonment, Fawkes helped her get the G.E.C.K., which was located past a highly radiated area.

Fawkes could enter with ease, as he was already a Super Mutant, and Super Mutants were more or less immune to radiation. But after she grabbed the G.E.C.K., and said farewell to Fawkes, she was ambushed. By the same white coat devil. How he managed to escape the radiation of the chamber was beyond her. But she was captured, and brought to the main base of the Enclave in the Capital Wasteland. When she awoke, she found herself stripped bare of almost everything. At least they had the decency to let her wear some under garments.

But out of all people, her interrogator had to be the devil in the white coat. A colonel, though she didn't bother to remember his name. When she refused to give him what he wanted, the code to start up her father's project, he pulled out a gun and wanted to pull the trigger at her. Of course, she wasn't afraid, so she spat down the barrel of that same gun, and on his face as well. Just when she thought she was going to die by the hands of a madman, a sudden interruption had halted her execution.

The leader of these Enclave, a so called 'President', had ordered the Colonel out, and then discussed in private with her, though he was simply a blue iron eyeball looking about in her cell room. He told her to meet him personally, and had the grace to give back all of her weapons. She had the liberty of walking around the entire base, taking in mental notes on the general layout and the capabilities of the base. But just as she was about to reach the level to meet the 'president', the Colonel apparently staged a coup de'tat, ordering the soldiers to attack her.

She had her fair share of fighting Enclave troops, and she actually took joy in putting large holes in their helmets. But she wasn't equipped to take them on one against more than two, and her weapons were not exactly the type to put much damage in their armour. Especially when they have weapons that can turn her into green goo. However, help came in the most unlikeliest of allies. Robots. The mechanical shock troops turned armour into instant microwaves, cooking the insides of enclave troops, allowing her to get pass, and eventually reach the 'president'.

What she did find, instead of a haughty, short, fat, ego-inflated, delusioned man chewing on a cigar, was a cool, smooth surface of a computer interface. That was when it dawned upon her. She knew something was not right the moment she stepped into this facility. The leader of the Enclave was nothing more than a program who managed to gain some form of intellectual processing. But still, much to her own amazement, she manages to outsmart and outwit the computer, till it could no longer function properly, and she gave it commands to shut down. Grabbing the vial of chemicals that the computer wanted her to put into her father' project, she raced out of the facility, just as it was about to blow up.

While typical, she didn't bother with minor details till she was outside. The base blew up behind her and while Enclave soldeirs were fleeing away from the destruction in general, a couple wanted to take a souvenior with them, her. But luckily, a friendly force appeared. Fawkes, with a giant gatling laser, from who knows where, appeared and managed to secure her safety. With Fawkes, she made her way back to the Citadel, and presented Elder Lyons with what she found. The source of the Super Mutants, the identity of the Enclave's leader, the Coup of the Colonel, the goals of the Enclave with her father's project, and finally, the vial of chemicals that she grabbed from the outwitted computer.

She wasted no time to rest, as she joined the Lyon's Pride and the rest of the Brotherhood in a fierce battle against the remaining Enclave troops stationed at her father's project, the Jefferson Memorial. The Brotherhood had an interesting robot, built by their best engineers, and by Madison Li, a certain associate of her father's. She had her suspicions that Doctor Li had more than a professional interest in her father, but she never really got an answer. During the battle, she did manage to get a few laughs despite the fire and explosions around her that nearly made her ear-drums burst. The robot that the Brotherhood had managed to fix, didn't exactly have all of its circuits fixed, and it was shouting war propaganda at the Enclave, while firing death lasers at them. It certainly was funny, especially since this robot was meant to fight on the frontlines during the war before all of this became a wasteland.

Now the robot was fighting its own creators, accusing them of being the enemy and being communist. Ideologies do not last long in the wastelands. She knew that well enough to know that this robot was clearly not straight in its circuits, but it was somewhat entertaining. Once they managed to break into the war memorial, she, together with Sarah Lyons, headed straight for the main control room. Fawkes, Dogmeat, Paladin Cross, and all of the other members of the Brotherhood were all outside, still engaged with additional Enclave forces. That left her, and Sarah in a final show-down against the mad white devil.

She didn't bother to listen what he had to say, the moment she saw him, she pointed her large, multi-barreled mini-gun, and riddled his head with holes. While his coat did sustain some damage, it wasn't beyond repair, so she took as a trophy, though Sarah did have comments on that. But all was not over. Doctor Madison Li had reported that they would have to start the project now, or else the entire facility would blow. She would not have that. This was her father's work. One that her family had done so much to complete. She knew what it was. Project Purity, she read her father's notes, and understood it perfectly. And so she knew what she had to do. Before Sarah could even ask who should enter the chamber of deadly radiation, she ran in, and shut the door behind her.

While Sarah pounded on the glass, trying to say something that she couldn't really hear, she could feel the radiation beginning to affect her. It threatened to make her black out, but she must complete her task before that could happen. She struggled to the panel, feeling her insides burning and melting. On the panel, were a bunch of numbers. She could hardly see the numbers of each pad, but her hand guided her fingers, as she punched in the key. She had always known the password. Always. It was her father's hope, his virtue. She knew her father, and therefore knew the answer. 216. The machine hummed to life before her, as she collapsed onto the ground, not before catching a glimpse of the statue of the man whose name was used for this memorial. As darkness began to close upon her, she smiled, thinking back of her father. She opened her mouth, as her words came out as small whispers.

"I am Alpha.... and Omega. The beginning... and the end."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I've already written a couple of chapters, so i'll post them in one sitting. I'm lazy.... tired, and have midterms bulldozing my way like a tidal wave.... doesn't make sense, but i don't feel like making any sense at the moment.  


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**Chapter 2: It never ends**

Her world had gone black after all that. And she thought she had died. It was obvious what was the outcome of the decision that she made. She had accepted it, though maybe not embracing it. Yet, her mind seemed to find it odd how she can still manage to form articulate, and profound deductions when she was suppose to be dead. Maybe in the afterlife, everything would be clearer. But what she did not expect, was a dull pain that she was feeling practically everywhere on her body. It was a pain that she could clearly feel, yet not make out what it was exactly. And soon, more sensations began to wash over her. Stiffness, exhaustion, she could hear sounds, people talking, and a strange constant beep.

And she could feel herself being heavy-... wait. Feel? She knew at that moment that something was wrong. Feeling was not exactly part of death, was it? She never faced death, maybe stared at it straight on and give it her finger, but she never actually experienced death. And with all of this mental processes still going on debating about theories of death, she couldn't actually be dead, could she? That was when she forced her eyes to open, and surely, they did.

Though she closed them almost immediately when a glare was staring down straight into her pupils. But slowly she grew accustomed to the light, and opened her eyes. She seemed to be looking at something grey in colour. She wasn't exactly sure what it was at first, till her mind slowly began to to recieve information from her other body parts and put those information together. She was lying down on a bed, not a very comfortable one, but a bed nonetheless. The beeping sound was a machine next to the bed, with a whole bunch of long wires dangling down and attached to her.

The grey that she saw at first was recognized to be the ceiling. But where was she? And how did she get here? As if on cue, she heard the footsteps of someone walking towards her. Those footsteps sound heavy. Then, a rather familiar face appeared before her. With rose coloured cheeks, and her blonde hair tied up into a bun, Sarah Lyons smiled down on her.

"Hey there."

She tried to open her mouth to speak, but her throat felt dry and coarse.

"Try not to do much. You've gotten yourself pretty banged up good this time. Personally, i would be screaming at you on what the heck were you thinking, but the doctor made sure i cooled my head before i came in here. Said something about not stressing you out."

Sarah gave a wink, and all she could manage to reply, was to form a smile.

"Well, you might want to know how you managed to survive, and i would like to know the answer to that as well. After you collapsed, that big friend of yours barged in and pulled you out before too much damage was dealt. I don't know how your friend knew, but he said that he was told that you were in danger, so he came barging in. After that, we treated you immediately for severe radiation sickness, and brought you here. The doctor said you would have some damage to your kidneys and stomach, most of which he tried to repair, though he remarked that you were extremely lucky to survive at all."

She managed another smile, though this one was more tired than the first. Exactly, how did she survive?

"You're one lucky girl, you know that? The doctor said you would recover within three weeks after you awake. Oh yeah, you've been out for a whole month. Doctor Li was so stressed and frantic that i thought she would pull out all of her hair. And she has paced around in circles outside your door enough times that there was a permenant mark on the floor. Well, she's going to be happy that you're awake now. You worried all of us, and i nearly had a heart-attack when you did what you did. At least you're still with us. You've got a lot of fans waiting, you know. Shouldn't disappoint them with you suddenly giving up on us."

Sarah noticed that her eyelids were getting heavily, and the Sentinel smiled.

"I'll let you get some rest then. The next time you wake, make sure to stay awake."

Maybe she would do that. A month asleep is more than what a body can handle, though just a bit more wouldn't hurt. With that, darkness engulfed her once more.

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It wasn't clear how long she stayed unconscious, as everything seemed to happen within the next second. Her eyes groggily opened, and she came to see the same grey ceiling. Her body was still feeling heavy and numb, but at least she could figure that out. She closed her eyes, and tried to force her mind to reestablish nerve connections to the rest of her body. Maybe she shouldn't be doing this, but she didn't want to be helpless. Nothing good came out of being helpless was a lesson she learnt from the wastelands. Soon, she could feel her fingers and toes, though it would seem that most of her muscles were dead, or non-responsive. She opened her eyes once more, and this time tried to coordinate her hands to push herself up. Once more, her muscle responses were somewhat flat. After struggling for awhile, she gave up trying to get herself to sit up.

"Don't push yourself."

She turned to the voice, and saw another familiar face. It wasn't Sarah, but the other Paladin. Star Paladin Cross, if she remembered correctly. The older dark skinned woman tenderly helped her up.

"You certainly do know how to push yourself too far. Reckless, very much like your father was."

Paladin Cross had a rather complex expression on her face. Part of it pained, and the other was relief.

"I should let the others know that you're awake."

Just as the paladin was about to leave, she stopped and turned back to her.

"I'm glad that at least one of the people i've sworn to protect is still alive."

Paladin Cross left the room, leaving her to her own thoughts. While she knew that she was being unreasonable, and extremely reckless back then, she did not really think how much others would be affected. Soon, a whole bunch of people came into the small clinic, over-crowding the place. Most of them were Brotherhood of Steel members, but there were a couple of surprises. Like Three-Dog, the disc Jockey from the Galaxy News Radio.

Most of them wanted to say thanks, slap her back, get her autograph, and all sorts of other weird things. She received five proposals for marriages as well, though she wasn't really listening. Soon, Doctor Madison Li chased everyone who wasn't really involved out. All who were left, were Doctor Li, Sarah, Fawkes, the Brotherhood's doctor, and Elder Lyons. Dogmeat was there as well, though Sarah was trying to keep him away from jumping onto her bed and licking her senseless.

"How is her condition?"

Doctor Li asked the Brotherhood's doctor, who was checking on her vitals, shining lights into her eyes among all sorts of other things.

"Hmm, well, she looks fine. But i don't think she should be jumping straight out just yet. Let me run a few more tests before i can safely discharge her."

"Alright."

As the Brotherhood's doctor moved aside, Doctor Li took a seat by her bed, and held her hand tightly. Clearly the doctor hasn't had a good rest as evident from her face. Worn and weary, Doctor Li had definitely seen better hair days. She opened her mouth to speak, but her voice would not come to her. Her throat was too dry. Sarah sensed what was wrong, and took out a canteen from her belt.

"Here, water. Is it alright, doctor?"

Sarah turned to the Brotherhood's Doctor, who nodded.

"It should be fine, though her body may reject it initially."

Sarah helped place the canteen against her lips, and soon, she felt the cooling sensation wash into her mouth. But the moment it tried to go down her throat, she felt sick, and threw up on the otherside of the bed.

"There we go.... i just had the floor cleaned yesturday too."

The Brotherhood's doctor sighed. Madison Li took a hankerchief and wiped her mouth clean.

"Take it easy. You don't need to rush anything."

Madison said. It felt strange to her though, since the first time she met Madison Li, the doctor was not all too happy, or kind. While she wasn't stupid not to notice that something happened between her father and Madison, she didn't really know the entire story. And so when faced with the current Madison Li, she felt rather confused, and disturbed. Madison seemed to notice her uneasiness, and sighed.

"I know that i was harsh, and tried to push you away in the past. But... after we lost James, i thought that all would be lost. I mean, James was an important person to the project, but he was an important person to me personally as well."

Now it made sense to her.

"... Yu... You..."

She managed to get a word out, but it still felt odd. She cleared her throat, and tried again.

"You.... loved... my father... didn't you?"

Madison closed her eyes for the moment, before she nodded.

"Yes, i did. I... i felt envious of your mother, Catherine, when James chose her. Of course, i never really expressed my feelings to James, so he wouldn't know. That man was denser than a Murlurk. Still, i loved him, yes. But i also hoped for his marriage to Catherine to be a success. Catherine was my best friend, and so you, the child of Catherine and James, came to represent... my jealousy. I tried to push that thought away initially, and when Catherine died, i was devastated. I kept thinking that i was such a horrid friend to bear ill will towards her.

And so i pushed your existence even further, not wanting to face my guilt. I thought i didn't have to deal with it any longer, till you came back, looking for James. While you look alot like James, i could see Catherine in you, and so i was scared... Tried so hard to push you away. James's death woke me up, that now you have nobody. That maybe my own jealousy had caused all of this."

She held onto Madison's hand, shaking her head.

"No.... you weren't... wrong."

"I know that, but the guilt would not stop tormenting me. And then when you nearly died, i thought my world would collapse. You are the child of two of the most important people in my life. I should never have abandoned you, never asked you to do such dangerous things. From now onwards, we will stay together... as a family."

She cocked her head sideways, unsure of what that meant.

"I may not be able to replace Catherine or James, but i hope that you would allow me to take care of you like how your parents would have."

She stared into Madison's eyes and she knew that Madison was determined. While she did miss her parents, she did not know what to expect from this offer. She was already a grown women, or at least in the eyes of the Vault dwellers. But she did miss the comfort of having a parent around. Someone to talk to when in doubt about anything. Maybe her parents wanted this. Who knows. She smiled, and nodded.

"Alright... Madison."

"Thank you... though i would have preferred being called 'mom'. Maybe that was asking too much for now."

Madison laughed weakly, wiping away her tears. Elder Lyons then gave a slight cough, turning all of the attention to him.

"While i hate to break up a tender moment, i'm afraid that time does not allow us to sit here in comfort. If i may, Madison."

While Madison shot Elder Lyons a look, she stepped aside. Elder Lyons stood before her bed, standing in a rather formal position. She knew immediately that something was happening, or at least going to happen.

"First off. I would like to congratulate you on your bravery and dedication in ensuring the survival of the human race. From discovering the source of the Super Mutants, to creating your father's dream. I'm sure he would be proud of you. However this isn't over. During the month you were unconscious, many things had taken place. Firstly, though we have started Project Purity, and ensuring it works properly, we lack the soldiers to have an efficient parametre secured. The Enclave are still trying to push their luck by launching skirmishes and sneak attacks. So far we've been lucky, but our troops' morale are wearing thin. It wouldn't be another two months before the entire basin of water is pure enough to drink, and till then, we cannot allow the Enclave to get their hands on it."

Elder Lyons gave a pause, allowing all of that information to digest in her. Once he was sure she got it all, he continued.

"We have other problems as well. Although we know the source of the Super Mutants, we do not have enough people to launch an assault to storm the Vault. Your friend Fawkes has provided us with a very detailed map of the Vault so once we get inside, it should be no problem. Though another question arises from this, and that is-"

"Why are there more Super Mutants than the records can account for, right?"

She knew what Elder Lyons's concerns were. She too had felt that it was too awkward and strange. Elder Lyons smiled and nodded his head.

"You are indeed your father's child. Smart and well-learned. Indeed, we cannot find the answer to how the Vault alone can produce so many Super Mutants, especially since the Vault is no longer operational."

"When i was inside the Enclave base, the Enclave seem to be experimenting with many different life forms. I wouldn't be surprised if they were trying to create an army of Super Mutants to fight their battles for them. They've already made mind-controlling devices for the Death Claws and Yao Guai."

"That was what i thought as well, and if it is true, then we must find this additional Enclave base. While i do not wish to trouble you any longer, after all that you have done for the people of this place, i'm afraid i cannot turn to anyone else."

At that moment, Madison decided that she could tolerate it any longer, and taking up her 'gaurdian' role, stepping protectively before Elder Lyons.

"I won't allow her to go through any more hardships by herself! You said it yourself that she has done alot, and you know that the people of the capital Wastelands now owe her a dept they can never possibly repay!"

"Madison-"

"No! I will not allow it! I will not allow you to just send her off to her death-!"

Madison stopped when she tugged at her sleeve. Madison saw her shake her head slowly, and it greatly pained her to see that.

"But-"

"It's alright, i know how to take care of myself. Besides, i am the only one who can do this. I have the skills and experience, not to mention the knowledge of what to expect and find. Please... mom."

Madison bit her lip, and felt her resolve weaken greatly. Finally, she sighed, bending down to her eye level, brushing her bangs away from her face. Madison stared sadly into her eyes.

"You have to promise me.... promise me that you'll return, no matter what. You, the child of James and Catherine, must survive at all costs. You hear me?"

"Yes, i promise."

"Good."

Madison got back to her feet, and glared at Elder Lyons, before stepping aside once more. Elder Lyons smiled at the angry Madison, before facing her once more.

"Well, now that everything is clear, we need you to go out and scout out all possible places. We took the liberty of installing your Pip boy with a communicator, so you can contact us at anytime, using the GNR relays. Here."

Elder Lyons presented her with a familiar item. It was like a wrist computer, though somehow more useful than that. The memories flooded back to her. Her father, Amata, the Vault, her adventures. Everything came back so suddenly, she felt herself sway. Now wasn't the time for doubt, or reminiscing. As Elder Lyons said, there was still much to do. She took the PIP boy and put it back on her hand. It gave a familiar beep as she activated it. Exactly like before.

"Good. Looks like it still fits. Well, this is just the beginning. We're going to put you back into shape. Starting tomorrow, we will try to force your muscles to be active once more, so be prepared for the worst."

"... Bring it."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I was thinking of what sort of name my character should have.... my game's character has a totally unrealistic and over-the-top name, so i won't use that. I wanted something that would represent the wastelands.... well, not exactly well chosen, but better than nothing, i guess.  


* * *

**Chapter 3: Healing Wounds**

Maybe she should have chosen her words more wisely. Indeed, true to his word, Elder Lyons had forced her to take a rigourous rehabilitation excerise. When morning came, Sarah came in with her clothes, her old clothes that were repaired and returned. Once she got changed into those, she had to be helped into a wheelchair, and pushed into the special training area arranged by Elder Lyons and Paladin Gunnery especially for her. It took her the entire morning and afternoon to just get feelings back into her tighs, and she worked hard till she fainted from exhaustion trying to walk again. Apparently it wasn't just the one month that caused her muscles to malfunction. The radiation had caused many other unwanted side-effects.

She couldn't eat food properly without throwing up whatever entered her mouth just five minutes before, which left her to swallow pills to replace nutrients and minerals that she needed. Muscle death was also caused by the radiation, though the areas affected that were left after the initial operation were small and the doctor claimed to be easily fixed once located. If ever. She also had problems with dexterous hand coordinations. Most of the Brotherhood who had the time, and even those on duty near-by, would crowd round and watch their hero try time and time again to regain strength.

They constantly shouted cheers, and words of encouragement, only to be shouted at by Elder Lyons and Sarah to get back to their posts, or to mind their own business. Her struggle against her disabilities seemed like a losing battle, but her determination soon paved the way for her to recover. It would a whole week before she could walk on her own once more. Another three days after that, and she was able to dress herself. Another few days after that, and she started on firearms and machinery practices. She even sparred with Sarah in hand-to-hand combat, though Sarah constantly beat her.

Well, she wasn't one for close combat anyway. She could defend herself without weapons against a raider or two, and sneaking in close to kill someone using her hands was relatively easy, but against Sarah? No way. It wasn't a fair fight in the beginning. Still, even though she was getting used to her old self, there still were a few complications. She was still unable to stomach most solid food, and she also had to constantly take a few additional drugs and shots to make sure her body's vital functions don't collapse on her. Her immune system was apparently destroyed during her little dare into the chamber of death, as well as her ability to heal wounds, though the Brotherhood had enough technology to get those fixed.

Not completely, but enough to allow her own body to start its own repairs. It would be quite some time before she could really manage to survive on her own out there. But she did not take things quietly either. While she trained herself once more, she had also constantly worked on her searches. Using reports by Brotherhood scouts, she began to piece together information, though there were still too many holes in the overall picture. She had also sneaked into the science lab, grabbing spare parts and some interested Brotherhood engineers who were bored of normal work. Together, they worked to piece together old vehicles. She had only seen pictures of them go and so the team she had assembled had to do a trial and error method of repair.

With Sarah helping, getting wreckages of old vehicles was easy. It wasn't long before she managed to revive two vehicles. One that ran on two wheels, called a motorbike, albiet a rather fierce looking one, and one that ran on four wheels, which she thought was to be called a 'car', but somehow it was large enough for Fawkes to fit in. Well, it was a modification that the team put together, seeing how the only piece able to replace the frame was extremely large. She did not know if Fawkes knew how to drive, but she certainly knew someone else who could fit in the driver's seat.

While it took some convincing to get Paladin Cross onboard, Sarah had somehow accidently let it slip what she was working in the labs, which earned her a very stern lecture from Madison, who ranted almost for four hours how she should be using every minute of her free time recovering. While it was true that not all of her organs were completely recovered, she felt healthy enough to get around and do things, if not she would be bored out of her mind. She was very much like her father, too much into work that if she didn't do something to occupy her mind, she would literally go nuts.

A workaholic, though she did have methods to occupy herself if she ever found the need to just sit still. After Madison's lecture, she decided to head off back to lab. She never learns to keep away from her hobbies after all that. It wasn't long after she got her rides working, that she was soon certified by the doctor that she was as fit as she could get by resting. And so she began her pack and her route planning. She would need to ask around, so her first stop should be Rivet City.

* * *

She strapped her 10mm pistol holder to her belt as she prepared to set off. With all of her weapons and equipment in her bag, her mind wondered to whether she forgot anything. Food supplies, extra ammunition, lock-picks, and other things. She turned another page in the manuel of the vehicles, since she was going to use them. She did not know how to ride them, though repairing was probably easier. She slung her bags, one a sling bag and the other a backpack, onto her shoulder, and headed out of the room. To think, she had not stepped outside this complex for three months. She walked through the hallways, passing Knights and Paladins who saluted her. Turning a corner, she saw Madison standing there, still looking grim about the entire thing.

"Everyone's waiting."

Madison simply said, before walking in step with her. The two were silent for most of the way till they were out in the courtyard. There were her two vehicles, the bike, and the oversized car. Fawkes and squeezing himself into the back seat of the car, a spot that she personally designed for him, and his large gatling laser. Dogmeat was in the passenger seat up front, with Paladin Cross at the wheel. She could probably fit one more person in that car, but with this arrangement, it was fine.

"Did you read the manuel?"

she asked Star Paladin Cross, who simply smiled in reply.

"Read it? Ha! I don't need to read a book to know how to work this."

"Good to know."

She smiled, heading to the bike. It too was specially designed to carry things. On each side of the rear wheel were holders for her bags, and there were also special holders for her rifles. She had two rifles, one hunting, and one sniper, and she had a chinese assault rifle as well, but she couldn't find a proper holder for it, so it sat tied to her back-pack. After she slotted her rifle into its holder, she turned to those who came to see her off. She gave Sarah Lyons a hug first, thanking her for helping her.

"No problem, you're part of the Lyon's Pride. One of us. You take care of yourself out there, and don't do any more foolish stuff."

"I know, i know. Madison chewed enough out of me for that. I don't need another lecture."

Sarah smiled, patting her friend on the back.

"Good. Then we'll meet up at the GNR building."

She nodded her head in agreement, before she turned to Madison. Madison was obviously pained, as evident with her tears. She could not help it, and so she gave Madison a hug.

"Promise me.... promise me you'll be safe and return to me."

Madison's soft voice trembled as Madison's tears soaked her sleeveless coat.

"I promise... don't worry, i'll make sure to come back. Then we can talk all we want."

"That sounds nice.... Here, i want you to have these."

Madison passed to her two things. A dog-tag, and a 10mm pistol that was clearly modified.

"These belonged to James and Catherine. Before you were born, your parents asked the Brotherhood to make them a symbol of their marriage. This dog-tag was what they got."

She read the inscriptions on the tag, and it simply read '21-6'. The same engravings were on the handle of the pistol.

"That was all i managed to get from James's old things. I'm sure he would have wanted you to have them."

She clutched onto the items closely. From them, she thought she could clearly hear her father's voice. She looked at Madison, and smiled, though her own tears were clouding her vision.

"Thank you."

She strapped the pistol and its own holster around her thigh, and wore the dog-tag around her neck, before she parted from Madison and saddled onto her bike. Turning the engine on, she glanced a look over at the car, and Paladin Cross gave her a thumbs up. She pulled her biking goggles on, and held onto the dog-tag closely.

"Watch over me, dad."

Giant steel gates of the Citadel slowly swung open, showing the road for her. Revving her engine made her smile. It sounded really good, despite using energy and microfusion cells as its fuel.

"Let's roll."

And off they went, out of the Citadel faster than anyone had expected, leaving only a dust cloud in their wake. Madison could only look and worry. Elder Lyons walked up to the scientist, and placed a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

"Don't worry, Madison, she can handle herself out there. You know better than anyone else."

"I know.... But i still can't help to worry."

"And that makes you a great parent."

Madison did not even want to glare at Elder Lyons for that joke. All she wanted, was her safe return.

"Return safely.... Ashely."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Note that i chose to spell her name differently.... it is intentional, i know how to spell the name properly, and no, i'm not going to change it. Yes, i am crazy, no, i speak English fluently, thank you very much.

they should really put vehicles in the game.... i'm tired of walking.

* * *

**Chapter 4: Returning Rivets**

Gunning the engine, Ashely felt the power of the machine roaring under the frame. It was something she wasn't used to initially, and she nearly fell off the machine a couple of times, but she finally got it under control. Maybe slightly swerving, but otherwise still under her control. She turned to the side, keeping an eye on her companions, who seemed to be enjoying the ride. Dogmeat especially. It didn't take them long to reach Rivet City, and they were greeted by a large crowd of people who were interested in the loud sounds that came from the machines.

Getting off her bike, Ashely took her biking goggles off her eyes, and looked around at the people. Well, she wouldn't have to go inside for information now with the entire population of Rivet city outside. Some people recognized her the moment she came into view, though others were still unsure of her identity. A young boy ran up to her and immediately crashed into her legs, making her lose her balance and falling backwards. Her head hit the ground rather hard and she was seeing stars for the moment, but other than that, pretty fine.

"You're back!"

The boy's familiar voice attracted her eyes to him, and soon his face came into focus.

"Bryan? You know, you really knocked the wind out of me."

The boy gave a cheeky smile while having a rather tight with his grip around her waist. A young woman walked up to her and gave a warm smile.

"We heard what you did for us, and what you risked. Bryan almost cried when he heard you almost died."

"Aunt! I told you not to say that!"

Bryan shouted in defence, face turning a bright red. The woman only smiled.

"He always tries to be brave, said that one day he would protect and save you."

Ashely looked down at Bryan, who had buried his face in her clothes. She stroked his head gently and smiled at the boy.

"Yeah, i'll look forward to that day."

"Summers, are you alright?"

She turned and saw Paladin Cross offering her hand. She took the hand and the Brotherhood Paladin pulled her to her feet.

"Thanks."

"No problem, you sure are popular with the kids."

She could only smile at that as she dusted her clothes off.

"Still, for the great hero to be knocked out by some kid. That sure doesn't make you look good."

She raised an eyebrow at Paladin Cross for that comment.

"I may have saved the Capital Wastelands, but do i actually look like a super hero?"

"What, you mean like Gorgnak? You read too many comics. But yeah, with your frame, i'm surprised that you can even carry a mini-gun."

And Paladin Cross was right. Ashely Summers wasn't exactly a towering muscle sack. She was small, shorter than Paladin Cross, slim and light weight. Her body didn't look like it had the muscles to drag a mini-gun, let alone carry one, though her small size did hide certain surprises at times. For one, Paladin Cross did see first hand how Ashely managed to wrestle with a Super mutant who thought a body slam could deal with the lone wanderer. That girl hid a lot of strength in her petite body, fangs behind that sweet smile, and overall a demon behind that pretty face.

"Well, let's begin with some questions."

Paladin Cross nodded, and followed Ashely as the girl began to approach different people to ask questions. Of course, most people wouldn't know anything since they were hardly out of the city, but there were the trade caravans. A couple of shadier folks also made Rivet City their safe haven, so coming here wasn't all bad. After talking with some people, Ashely was approached by a ragged old man. He looked poorly dressed, with dirt all over his face and probably five of his teeth were missing.

"Yer lookin' fer David. Ain't no fella uo knows better dan e' dos."

While Paladin Cross, and Fawkes, scratched their heads on trying to decipher the old man's sentence, Ashely already knew what he meant.

"And... where is this David?"

"Inhide. E' neivar sows is face mush."

Ashely looked up at the giant rusting ship on the waters. A man named David is within those steel walls, and has some inside information on what was happening. Well, it was a start. Ashely thanked the old man and headed up for the ship. With Fawkes and Dogmeat watching the vehicles, and Fawkes tasked with negotiating some traders on more energy fuel cells, Paladin Cross followed Ashely up to the ship. As they walked across the steel bridge, Ashely saw a familiar face walking out to greet them. The city guard, Harkness. Ashely knew about the 'man's' real identity, but kept it with her, and Harkness has been appreciative of that fact. Ashely and Harkness greeted each other with a smile and handshake, before she began her questionings.

"David? Hmm.... Must be talking about the new guy. David Hatchetry. Yeah, he's below deck. I'll lead you there."

Harkness led the two, with an additional two guards down below the decks of the ship. The presence of guards for this did not escape Ashely's eye and concern.

"The guards? Oh yeah. This guy is quite.... violent. The doc thinks he's on Jet, well, who isn't?"

"Sounds like you have your work cut out for you."

Ashely giggled, making Harkness smile sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah, it is a lot to get this place in order, but at least it's worth it. Anyway, this new guy had to be detained after he went on a rampage in the market, shot three people, but no one was killed."

"... Are you sure it was Jet?"

Ashely now stopped to think, and the rest stopped to turn to her.

"Jet can enhance certain aspects, but it also induces a calm and high feeling."

"What about withdrawal symptoms? He could be suffering from those."

Harkness suggested that possibility that Ashely had already thought of.

"True, withdrawal would normally cause violent behaviours, and sometimes agression to others. However the withdrawal from Jet usually makes the person disoriented, dizzy, and prone to mistakes."

"Which explains why each shot he made missed killing a person."

"It may.... but people suffering from Jet withdrawal do not even have the strength to hold a gun."

Ashely had seen a lot in the wastelands, and one of them was a whole town of people who took Jet more than their three meals a day. It was like walking through a town filled with brainless feral ghouls who did not seem to take notice of her, but were thrashing things with their bare hands.

"So... this guy is on something else?"

Paladin Cross asked the question Harkness was afraid to ask himself.

"Probably... let's see this guy."

Harkness nodded, leading the group a little further down the corridor, then stopped outside a steel door where two more guards stood by. The guards saluted when Harkness approached them, and he did the same to them.

"Alright. No weapons inside, just in case he grabs them and uses them on yourself."

Harkness extended out his open hand to Ashely, who readily took her side arms off her and handed them to the guard. But the guard knew Ashely well, and still had his hand opened to her. Ashely grumbled something under her breath, and pulled out a hidden knife from her boot. Satisfied, Harkness led her in. Paladin Cross had to stay outside, due to the fact that her power armour had the capacity to kill. Stepping inside, Ashely immediately covered her nose as a foul stench perferrated the room. It smelt like the time she went into Vault 87.

Those Super Mutants clearly had no hygiene, and clearly neither does this room. The place was also in a mess, though there weren't that many objects in the room in the first place. A bunk bed, a table that had a large crack and a few holes on its surface, and pieces of a chair were scattered about. In the corner, a figure sat huddled together. The man's skin was pale and nearly grey, but it was clear he was still alive and not a ghoul. He had bald spots on his head, and his dark brown hair was falling off in bunches.

His dress sense made her think he used to work as a slaver, though he could have just scavanged the clothes off slavers. That's what she did, but so did so many others. Ashely slowly approached the figure, who did not seem to notice her. Upon closer inspection, Ashely found that the man was trembling violently. Veins were pronounced under his skin, and his frame was so thin she thought she was looking at a living skeleton.

"... David?"

She called out to him, but to avail. The man wouldn't respond. Ashely turned to Harkness, unsure of what she was seeing.

"When was the last time he ate?"

"Just yesturday. Gave him food myself. He wasn't like that yesturday though. He was violent and uncooperative, but still ate his food."

"Hmm...."

Ashely pulled out her Pip-boy, recording her findings and cross-referencing with things she discovered out in Wasteland. Luckily none of the data stored in her Pip-boy was erased while the Brotherhood tinkered with it.

"Do you think it's something other than Jet?"

Harkness wondered out loud, stepping closer to David, waving a light in the unresponsive man. Still no reaction.

"It is something other than Jet... Was he like this when he first came onboard?"

"No. Was abusive, demanded drinks and food like he owned the place, but he kept within the rules, till he pulled out a gun."

".... Hmm, has he taken any substance that would be considered abnormal?"

"Not that i know of. Everything he ate, the others ate as well."

"Then it must be something no one else has... Looks like we're dealing with a new drug."

Ashely kept her Pip-boy away, crossing her arms as she turned to the still trembling man. Something about it seemed familiar, but she could not put her finger on it. She tried to link it to the Enclave, though she knew such a connection was only hypothetical, something she wished would happen to make things easier, but truth being that what this man had could be anything. Raiders, slavers, Super mutants trying out bio weapons, the Talon company, the-

"The Talon company...."

Words escaped from her lips. The mercernary company of ruthless hunters had been on her back for as long as she had been on the Wasteland. She knew who hired them, but had yet to locate that sneaky coward who did so.

"What do they have to do with this?"

Harkness asked, and she didn't blame him, at first glance, they would have nothing to do with this, and in fact, they actually may not, but if there was someone who knew something going on in the shadows of the underworld of the Wastelands, it would be them. There were many places she could search if she could, the Underworld, the Meserati station, the GNR, the Lincoln memorial, the Oasis, Megaton, the Vaults, but nothing would prove useful.

The Talon company had the inside information of almost everything that happens in the Wastelands, and that would include this. Still, how was she to get them to cooperate. Caps, that's one way, but she didn't have enough to buy the bounty off her head and get information at the same time. Actually, she didn't even have enough to get the bounty off her head. Each time she kills one of their hunting parties, her bounty goes up and so does their hatred of her. She had to find the person who ordered them to go after her in the first place. Burke.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I'm trying to picture life in the Wastelands..... nah, can't do it. I need to keep reminding myself that though the main character has already become a member of the wastelands, but still came from an upbringing within the vaults.... I need to keep making balances between knowing, not knowing, in character, not in character..... I need to think how and what people of the wastelands see as 'normal'.... but since i live a lavish lifestyle compared to them, i wouldn't know.  


* * *

**Chapter 5: Detouring Encounter**

Ashely had no idea where that elusive business man is after their meeting went sour in Megaton. The result of that meeting was the sheriff of the town being killed, but the town was saved from being blown up. And Megaton was a place she called home. At least one of the places she called home. She had safe houses scattered across the Wasteland, yet she had not heard or seen Burke ever. He must have known she would be coming after him, or else why should he go into hiding? His place in Megaton was easy to enter, though it gave her no leads to his whereabouts. His other place in Tenpenny tower also turned up no leads.

And that was before she went to start Project Purity. Now could be different, but it may be the same. Ashely sat back in her chair, chewing on a piece of mole rat meat as she sorted out pieces of reports Harkness let her see. Rivet City had kept records of its supplies and all traders, and Harkness had also organized an occasional scouting party to ensure the surrounding area is free of Super Mutants. All reports were now in her hands. With eyes still looking through the reports, she took a second mole rat meat and held it in her free hand under the table, where Dogmeat sat. The dog ate the meat out of her hand, and licked her hand clean.

Ashely did not seem to take note of the dog licking her fingers, as she grabbed another mole rat meat from the plate on the table and ate it with the same hand that was sobbered with dog saliva. Paladin Cross, however, did take note, and cringed slightly at the sight. Still, it was best to leave Ashely to her own devices. From the little time Paladin Cross had travelled with Ashely, she found the latter to be easily absorbed in her work and not notice anything else. A trait that is definitely from her father. The paladin took a quick bite from her mirelurk cake, looking at the huge array of reports that Ashely had read through.

Looking around, the Brotherhood paladin found it odd why not one person in this musy market place of Rivet City seemed too bothered by the odd sight that a Super Mutant sat at this small table. At least it looked small since Fawkes was sitting at the table too. The Super Mutant had a large metal block pushed out for him and he was very appreciative, thanking the people who moved the huge block for him, which surprised quite a number of people, who thought the Super Mutant was postively frightening the very first time he stepped on this ship.

Going back to the main issue, Cross had no idea on the man whom Ashely was looking for. Though judging from Ashely's descriptions, that was one man Cross did not want to get involved with. Maybe only in the sense that he was looking down the barrel of her laser rifle, but most likely not.

".... What about this Talon company?"

Cross wondered out loud, breaking Ashely's thoughts. The lone wanderer, though Cross wondered if that title could still be used for Ashely any longer, licked her fingers of the sauce the mole rat meat was cooked in, grabbing her nuka-cola and taking a swing from it, though she did cringe slightly. Nuka-colas did have a small bit of radiation, and since Ashely wasn't exactly fully recovered, eating and drinking these would cause slight pain, or immense pain, either way Cross couldn't tell. After surpressing her pain down, Ashely wiped her eyes of tears that were squeezed out of her tear ducts from her pain, before pulling out a report and handing it to Cross to see.

"What's this?"

Cross wasn't exactly a scribe, and she was sure Ashely knew that, though sometimes Ashely did act as though she expected everyone to know what she was talking about. Just like her father.

"Stock supplies of Fort Banister. That is where Talon Company is hiding."

"Wha-, you knew where they are hiding?"

Cross found her voice raised an octave higher than it should be, and Ashely nodded her head, grabbing her next meal, which was a lizard on a stick. She dipped it in a side of sauce and took a bite out of it before continuing.

"I paid them a little visit once after i got tired of running into their patrols. However, i couldn't find their boss, and after interrogating one of them, i found that i wasn't exactly welcomed in their base. Could tell by the way they fired all of their guns at me, right?"

She turned to her large green friend, who, throughout the entire conversation so far, had been poking at his large Yao Guai steak to check if it was properly cooked. Of course it had been properly cooked, but Fawkes seemed to have a thing for well-done steak, and this was medium rare. Fawkes turned in response to Ashely's question and nodded in agreement.

"Yes... Very rude.... very violent people.... they don't like... talking."

"No, not very."

Ashely took another bite out of her lizard stick and turned back to her notes while Fawkes managed to call the chef to cook the steak more. Cross decided not to bother the vault kid, and looked down at the piece of paper she got handed. Most of them were numbers, decreasing in number as the list went on, but Cross noticed that the numbers suddenly jumped at a certain level.

".... Ashely, there's a change in the pattern here."

Ashely looked up at the paladin, then to the part on the piece of paper that Cross was pointing at. Certainly, there was a change in pattern, which could mean a lot of things. But it most likely meant they got a resupplied, but who could give them such a large quantity of ammunition, guns, and food? Ashely didn't like the conclusion that was being formulated in her head. If the Enclave was involved, it could mean things were just about to get a whole lot worse from now on. Burke had contacts all over the place, and his intelligence network is deeply rooted, so once she got hold of Burke, she would get a hold of some useful information, yet the Talon company had its own network, so it was important to get hold of their information as well.

Either way, she had to find Burke first, then deal with the Talon company afterwords. She had her work cut out for her. Ashely put the paper down and grabbed her nuka-cola bottle, draining its contents in one go. It burned her stomach, but she held it in. While her father's purifier continued its work, she had to drink pretty much what everyone else was drinking. Purified water only came when it was deemed impossible to find other sources of water. After the unsettling feeling in her gut went away, Ashely got up and walked over to the chef at the food stall. She was still hungry, and decided it was best to get something for the road.

After purchasing some lizard sticks, mole rat meat in sauce, and murlurk cakes, Ashely grabbed whatever she needed from the reports and tucked them into a folder Harkness handed to her, and headed out with her group following right behind her. Fawkes still had his steak being chewed in his mouth as he followed behind. Dogmeat was curious at what the giant super mutant was eating and followed in step while peering up at Fawkes's mouth.

"So, where are we heading?"

Cross asked as they stepped out of Rivet city and into the open. Ashely grabbed a mirelurk cake and stuffed it into her mouth, chewing on it as she tucked the folder into her bag. Swallowing the cake down, Ashely wore her biking gloves, and pulled out her Pip-boy.

"The last known location of Burke before i went for my coma sleep, was Tenpenny tower. Of course that tower has had a change of management and is now ruled by ghouls, so the chances of Burke going back there is nil. Fort Banister may be another, but the Talon company doesn't keep their clients in the same place as they keep their weapons, and i raided that Fort a couple of time already and no sign of Burke."

"That leaves?"

"Hmm.... i guess we'll head to the GNR and meet up with Sarah. We can trade out information there."

Cross did not argue with that idea, and the group went back to their vehicles. Usually, there wouldn't be a usuable road leading into the Capital, and they would have to use the underground, but recent activities from Super Mutants had cleared a couple of ways in. Enclaves patrols also rolled in heavy tanks and cleared away quite a lot of debris. That's probably the only thing Ashely was silently thanking the Enclave for. Ashely pulled her biking goggles down over her eyes as she started up her bike.

Once the engine gave her a satisfying roar, she pulled on its throttle and she went off, with Cross and the other two in the car following right behind. Ashely rode along the ruins of the great Capital till she found an opening. She swerved the bike, using her foot as an anchor to make her turn sharper, then releasing her foot once she was into the turn and gunned it. The other vehicle seemed to have a better turn, though Fawkes had to grab onto the seat to stop himself from falling over.

Ashely had to admit, that Cross really knew how to drive. The two vehicles rode on the streets, with towering buildings shadowing their every move. Ashely noted that the roads had signs of heavy treads being moved through here. Most likely the Enclave had been through here recently, and they were moving something big. The group took a sharp turn at 52nd street, off the tread trail, but that didn't mean that the Enclave weren't in the area. Ashely knew the dangers of the Wasteland more than enough to let her instincts guide her eyes and hands.

With the amount of noise from the two vehicles, it was obvious the resident Super Mutants and raiders had paid them notice. Yet Ashely could not stop. She gunned the engine down a narrow straight street, swerving left and right to dodge random debris on the road, while Cross had not bothered with that, and rammed the things that stood before her. Luckily the Brotherhood had outfitted the car with reinforced framings, and with a monstrous wrecker infront designed to actually plow through buildings. Well, not all buildings. A group of Super Mutants suddenly opened fire upon the group from their building hide-out. Ashely grabbed her pistol with one hand and immediately returned fire.

The first shot from her pistol had missed its mark, and though it was actually Ashely's very first time shooting from a moving vehicle, she still felt like she could do better. Fawkes had opened the hatch on the roof of the car and mounted his gatling laser on top of the car, firing at anything at looked remotely like it could move. Most likely the group did nothing but cause the Super Mutants to duck for cover, but it was more than enough for them to get by. Ashely turned another corner, and saw barricades ahead. More Super Mutants, and they had already spotted her. She didn't bother to wait as she gunned it, heading straight for the barricade.

The mutants were clearly confident about their barricade stopping her as they did not move from their spot, firing their weapons at her. She timed her approach all within her mind, which worked in full-gear and well into overtime, calculating angles, speed, enemy count and position, ammunition level, and predicting five different outcomes. Her father's geniuses had passed down to her and became even more lethal from her constant brush with death in the Wastelands. She pulled the handles up, letting the bike run on its rear wheel. She fought to balance it right, and then she prayed. She wasn't a praying person normally, believing in numbers and figures than an actual being up in the radiate sky, but now was as a good time as any. And it paid off. She hit the barricade at the right angle, and her bike flew up into the air.

At that moment, everything seemed to pause, her mind still working in full time, locating each enemy and what they held. Her hands worked fast, pulling out her pistol and taking aim at the first mutant to her right. Her hands automatically and swiftly aimed for the head and pulled the trigger in one smooth action, and quickly moved to aim at the head of the second mutant to her left, firing almost immediately, before her bike slammed into the face of a third super mutant. She wasted no time and aimed at its head, and fired without hesitation or fear of hitting her own tire. Her first two shots in mid-air had paid off, the bullets going through their heads, and their bodies slumped onto the ground.

The third got his bullet as well, in his eye, and the sheer weight of the bike crushed his body. The body hit the ground hard, and the bike jumped a little. Ashely quickly drew her hunting rifle with her other hand, aimed it at the closest alive mutant who was in a state of surprise at what a mere human just did, and fired a bullet into its skull, felling the giant. The fifth super mutant, enraged by the death of its comrades, drew its minigun at her, but he was cut short as thousands of holes riddled his body from the gun-fire of Fawkes. The car plowed through the barricade to the left of Ashely, and Cross was apparently feeling very estatic about her driving, as apparent from her wild wolf whistles.

Five super mutants down in less than a minute. If that isn't a record, Ashely didn't know what was. She checked her pistol's catridge, and slotted in a new one. It was the same pistol Amata had given her when she left the Vault, and though Ashely had done some 'tweaking' to it, it still retained its shape. By 'tweaking', it meant Ashely increased its firepower, and modified the bullets it could fire. That explained why one bullet could kill mutant. Normally mutants have very resilient skin, their muscles were tough like steel and their bone composition was also reinforced. But Ashely had studied the workings of guns, and had quite a few chances to examine, or perhaps the proper word is 'performing an autopsy', on the mutants.

She knew what could enter that thick armour of skin, flesh and bone. She had made three types of bullets, seperate from the normal types. One was an armour piercing round, the idea stemming from the time she raided a national guard post. It was the one she used against these mutants, though it certainly gave her pistol more 'kick' than was needed. The second type of ammunition was a highly corrosive, and radioactive round. This was discovered by accident as she tried to synthesize more stimpacks, but her lab table in Megaton melted after some 'failures'. She made them into bullets, though felt reluctant to use them.

They were dangerous and she saved them for either really big, and dangerous enemies, or just to frighten the crap out of someone. The last of her munition rounds, was the scatter. It wasn't like a shotgun where the rounds scatter shortly after exiting from the barrel. This round was meant to explode and scatter shrapnel once it penetrated something. This was from a joke a ghoul from Underworld told her about how he saw a super mutant swallow a live grenade and it exploded from within. She had planned to use it together with the armour piercing round, though found that it was nearly impossible for the toughened bullet of the armour piercing round to allow an explosion once it entered the target. But it did make a very quick job of the mirelurks whom she tested it against.

She couldn't understand the anatomy of mirelurks, so the scatter bullet was the best way to deal with them if they ever thought she looked like dinner. Instead of aiming for their faces, which was hard to aim at especially when they are chargning at you and is only twenty centimetres in diameter, she could just shoot a scatter bullet into the tough shell of a mirelurk and it drop fast. Ashely looked around the small area that these mutants called their base, noticing a few bags of bloodied body parts. Seeing such sights were common when dealing with Super mutants, but she still could not get rid of that gut wrenching feeling in her gut whenever she saw those.

She dismounted from her bike, walking over to a blood-stained table where she found boxes of ammunition and a few bottle caps. Her curiousity did not stop there though, suppressing the urge to vomit, she stuck her hand into one of the body bags. Cross was feeling disgusted by that sight, and turned away from the scene. Dogmeat had apparently thought something smelt like food, as he stuck his nose into another body bag. After a short while, Ashely pulled her hand out of the last of the body bags, her entire right hand now covered with blood. She managed to grab a few caps, and a few pieces of paper.

Of course, the paper were soaked with blood, so she couldn't really read them, but managed to make out a small portion. From what she could see, it looked like a map of some mountain. However, something amongst the bodies did worry her. No sign of Enclave troops being part of the victims. Either they did not come through here, or it may prove her theory that the Enclave have somehow managed to control the Super Mutants.

And one more disturbing fact, was that these body parts were more or less butchered. Before, Super Mutants would hack victims into pieces and store them in bags for later, but these pieces looked like they went through fifty mutants each. The pieces were small, and showed signs of mad cutting. The mutants were getting more aggressive, and that never meant anything good.

"Find anything interesting?"

Cross wondered over to Ashely as the latter wiped her hand with a clean rag she found lying around. Clean as in it isn't soiled with blood. Ashely laid down the piece of paper on the table, wiping as as much blood as she can off the paper. More of the map was revealled, and somehow Ashely recognized it.

"What is it?"

"A vault map..."

"A vault? Which one?"

Ashely brought up her Pip-boy, scrolling through notes and information she pulled from vault-tec headquaters. She had been to every single vault listed in vault-tec computers, but this vault map did not look familiar. Did another vault somewhere open up and its people became victims to mutants? But Ashely did not know of any other vault in the capital wastelands. A traveller? From where? The mountain looked familiar, but she could not put her finger on it.

"I'm not sure which vault. It would be best to continue searching."

"So this is useless then?"

Ashely was not willing cross out that idea, since it could be coincidence. But something in the back of her head kept nagging at her about it.

"... I'll keep it for now."

Cross did not stop Ashely as the vault girl stuff the bloodied paper into her bag. The paladin had no hand in any of the girl's belongings being turned red. Ashely mounted her bike once mroe, and pulled a small wire with an ear piece attached from her Pip-boy. She had read about how the communicator works, though it was still in experimental phases, which meant it couldn't be used at all times. It was something the scribes had worked out so that they could locate and pin-point their forces across the wastelands.

They were tired of not being able to know where their comrades would go missing, and so each patrol was to be in constant contact with a scribe from the Citadel. As for Ashely, her connection was to a scribe in the Citadel, and to Sarah. The weary wanderer did not forget that Sarah was somehow or rather her superior. Maybe it was a bad idea to accept the invitations to the Pride, but at that time, it seemed like such a nice deal.

"This is lone wolf calling home base. Come in home base."

_'"This is home base, we hear you loud and clear lone wolf."'_

"I've just breached a major mutant blockade, en route to GNR."

_'"Copy that, lone wolf. Pride leader is already at destination point. Reports suggest heavy mutant activity around the GNR."'_

Ashely had to to sigh at that. There wasn't a single moment where she couldn't find a decent place without mutants in the capital. And the GNR has had its fair share of mutant raids. In fact, more than its fair share, that damn place seemed to have some sort of mutant pheromone, attracting mutants like moths to a flame. Still, she was heading there anyway.

"Thanks for the update. I'll head there to assist."

_'"Reports have also shown heavy mutant resistance en route to destination point. Suggest you take the subway, or the freeway on 55th."'_

"... Thanks, i'll keep that in mind."

_'"Good luck, lone wolf. Home base out."'_

She pulled out her ear piece and the Pip-boy retracted the wire by itself. She looked at the map on her pip-boy, mapping out the routes available to her. It would be best to avoid as much confrontation with the mutants as possible, but the car can't go through the subway. That meant that the freeway was the only option, though Ashely could count on heavy resistance.

"... Looks like we don't have a choice."

Ashely sighed, scratching her head as she tried to think up of something different. But as the scribe back at the Citadel said, those were her only two options. She could go in guns blazing, but that wasn't her style, and wiping out an entire horde of mutants was taxing on her munitions as well.

"So?"

Cross asked about her plan. It really looked like she didn't have a choice.

"We're going to take the freeway on the 55th. Most likely we'll meet with heavy resistance. If it comes down to it, you guys make a break for it while i'll try to draw their attention."

At the mention of that plan, Cross immediately wanted to object. But Ashely raised her hand and stopped the paladin from saying anything. The vault kid only smiled as she pulled her bike goggles over her eyes.

"Don't worry about me. I'm good at escaping."

* * *

Or so she would like to think. She pressed her body against the frame of the bike, making herself smaller to prevent getting hit as she sped down the freeway. Maybe it was a mistake to come down this path, but there wasn't anything else she could do about that. This freeway led straight to the GNR, and only if there weren't so many Super Mutants, then this would be easy. But it rarely is. She forced the bike to swerve to the right to avoid a rocket that exploded in the spot she was just a mere second ago.

If it were of any consolation, at least Fawkes was having a blast shooting down Mutants as they were chased down the road. His mad cheers was something that brought a little comfort back to their rather dangerous predicament. A glint from the window of a building caught her eye, and she swerved just in time as a bullet from a sniper hit the ground. Madness wasn't going to cut it anymore. This was a suicide. Did that scribe have something against her or something?

She turned and looked over at the car. Her eyes met with Cross's, and she nodded. It was time. She found her exit, and gunned the engine, hitting a car on the side of the freeway straight on, using it as a ramp to fly off the freeway. Of course, the Mutants weren't just going to change their target so easily. So she drew her pistol, and fired a couple of shots at the pursuing mutants, who had managed to get a couple of nice wheels as well, though those quadbikes with their steel exo-skeleton, and dirt buggies were quite a bad taste.

She didn't care if any of the shots hit, though she did hear tires screeching. As planned, the mutants now began their chase for her, letting Cross and the car get by safely. Now for the subway. She spotted the nearest subway entrance and headed straight for it. With those mutants sticking closely to her, they wouldn't be able to follow Cross once she exited their sights. But that was IF she managed to get away from their incredible sense of tracking. Her bike rammed hard against the metal gate of the subway entrace, forcing it open. She gunned it, driving into the subway station, though it was against her calculations that the Mutants would actually dare to enter. She could still hear the roars of their machines behind her.

She drove over a pile of garbbage to skip the ticket barrier, and used her foot as an anchor to make a sharp turn, driving off the overhead platform, down to the tracks below. She did not turn to see if the Mutants were following, riding off into the tunnels. After riding down the dark tunnel for a couple of minutes, she slowed down her bike and finally stopped. She lifted her goggles from her eyes, daring to look back just this once. No noise, and no sign of their machines. Maybe she did lose them. Heaving a sigh of relief, she leaned back in her seat, allowing a moment to catch her breath. All of the adrenaline rushing through her blood was going to make her faint sooner or later. And it was making her head spin.

"Not good."

She rummaged through her pouch, and pulled out a small bottle. She popped it open and let a small amount of its contents spill in her hand. Dark coloured pills fell from the battle and into her palm. She counted five pills, and poured the rest back into the bottle, before she forced the pills into her mouth and swallowed them. They left a bad taste in her mouth, but it was necessary. Not all of her body functions were working at their optimal level since the radiation accident, and it would prove fatal if any of them were to fail on her now. She closed her eyes as she felt the pills go down.

It would take awhile for the medication to circulate through her bloodstream, so for the moment, she shouldn't push it. Well, at least she shouldn't, but she quickly drew her pistol in reaction to a sound to her left, down a tunnel that split off from the one she was on. The quick action made her head feel like it was going to explode, but she forced the pain down. A moment of hesitation in the Wasteland could mean death. She kept her hand steady at the source of the sound, making sure to be ready for anything, though she knew what was there.

The subways were crawling with them so she knew she would run into them sooner or later. And her instincts were right. Stepping into the light of a nearby flaming oil drum, the creature, with its rotting flesh, decaying gums, and pupiless eyes moaned its usual sound, making another step towards her. A ghoul. And by the looks of it, a feral ghoul. Ghouls were split into two groups. The intelligent, more polite and well-mannered than their counter parts, despite their rather hard-to-look-at appearances ghouls were still considered friendly, though they were mostly cranky.

The other group consists of feral ghouls. Basically, mindless zombies who have no care for hygiene and your screams, nor do they care for their own well-being as they would blindly charge straight into a minigun anytime if you dangled a juicy piece of meat, or a dumb traveller, in front of them. However, despite being known to blindly charge and run at their victims, this feral ghoul was.... walking. She also noticed that this ghoul was bleeding. Not just from one wound, but multiple wounds. Crimson blood slowly seeping from wounds all over its body, and yet it still managed to hobble on towards her, baring its nearly toothless mouth.

The stench of the creature seemed to reach her nose as she cringed from its foul odor. Whatever happened to this ghoul did not let it go quietly. The least she could do for this thing was to end it quickly. She pulled the trigger, dropping the creature after its head exploded in a shower of blood and brain. She lowered her gun, and placed a hand to her head, wiping away her sweat from her brow. Her body was starting to react to the pills, and she shouldn't move much till the side-effects went away. The side effects were uncontrollable shakes, headaches, profuse sweating, disorientation, and suddenly lost of energy.

She managed to pull out the stand for the bike, before she collapsed off the machine onto the ground. Her breathing was hard as the effects began to coarse through her body. She hated this part, as her mind could not focus. Her surroundings seemed to waver, shake, shimmer like water, twisting and turning like she was a turning table seeing the world go round. Her mind could not make sense of anything and it was pounding hard against her skull.

Though her instincts did not fade with the rest of her senses. Danger was approaching, and it would most likely be more feral ghouls. She forced her hand to draw her pistol, but her shakes and disorientation made the pistol fall from her hand to the ground next to where she lay. Her body curled up into a ball as a reaction to everything. She couldn't die here. Not here, not now. Not after coming so far.

"...fa...ther...."

She felt hot tears falling from her eyes, and that was the one thing she remembered the most. Tears. She never seemed to run out of those. When her father went off without her, when she had to leave Amata behind, when she felt lost and alone in the wastelands, when she had make terrible choices, when her father died. Shots suddenly rang out through the tunnel. Her eyes couldn't focus, though her instincts had taken over her thinking and wondered if raiders or mutants were in the area. Light footsteps made its way towards her, and soon boots came into her unfocused field of vision.

"Well, what do we have here? Hey, are you alright?"

A soft feminine voice asked. She could not reply, her face contorted as the final phases of the medication kicked in. The shakes of her body became more violent, her body temperature felt like it was plummeting, her mind was nearly on the verge of exploding, and her senses began to go wild, receiving information yet not processing them correctly. Sights became smell, smell became sounds, sounds became touch.

"Woah... did you get bitten by those ghouls?... It doesn't look like you're injured... a jet user? Well, either way, i can't leave you here."

She felt her body being lifted and carried, though with some difficulty it seemed. She was placed down once more, but this time on a more smooth surface. The side of the tracks perhaps. She closed her eyes as the effects started to wash away. The feeling was never pleasant, but getting rid of the effects were worth anything. Her vision came to, and she blinked a couple of times to get her eyes back in order.

Her thoughts slowly came back to her. She had to remind herself not to take more than the prescribed number of pills, though she thought that taking in increased dosages would reduce the number of times she would have to take them, unfortunately it didn't seem too smart. She steadied her head with her hand, and looked up, only to see a person standing over her bike, inspecting it quite intently.

"Woah.... you have some really cool gear. You sure aren't any ordinary jet user, are you?"

Jet? Did this person think that she was using jet? She struggled to her feet, still feeling slightly disoriented from the terrible, even if short, ordeal.

"Who... are you?"

"Hm?"

The person looked up to her. A young woman, probably just a year or two younger than herself, with dark red hair tied in a ponytail and a pair of sparkling blue eyes. Sparkling like how kids find their most favourite toy or sweet before them. In this case, this young woman seemed to find her stash of equipment and weapons to be a treasure trove. This woman was dressed in a similar fashion to her own, though the woman's vest was a deep red. Her trench coat was also coloured in a similar fashion, and everything about this woman seemed to scream blood. Like she bathed in it.

"Oh? You recovery quickly, don't you?"

"... First thing, i'm not a jet user. I'm on medication."

The woman raised an eyebrow, then scratched her chin in thought.

"Medication? What for?"

"... I'd rather not talk about that."

"Hmmm, alright, if you don't want to talk about it, fine by me."

She felt caught off-guard by this woman's easy going nature, not that she had any right to say that. Though she didn't know it herself, she is more easy-going than most people would think her to be. Sure, she may concentrate hard on her task at hand, but when she doesn't have anything to do, she could wing anything. She left a group of raiders alone mainly because she didn't feel like shooting.

The young woman had a freshness about her that she did not miss. Like she didn't belong in the wastelands. Almost like... a vault dweller. But with that coat, she couldn't tell if this woman had a pip-boy or not. That was a sure fire way to figure out. She looked around, and saw bodies of feral ghouls scattered about. Fresh too, if that was something she could use to describe decaying corpses of decaying creatures. This woman must have some shooting arm to deal with this number of ghouls at one time.

"... Hm? Hey! Isn't that a pip-boy?"

That question sparked her interest. So this woman is a vault dweller.

"Yes, it is.... don't you have one?"

"Yup. Though it really looks bad with my clothes."

The woman pulled her sleeve back, showing off the device on her arm. The thing that binds all vault dwellers to their past and the horrible truth. So this proves it. This woman is a vault dweller. But-

"Which vault do you come from?"

She had to know. This had to do something with that bloodied map of an unknown vault for sure. She knew it with every bit of her telling her so.

"I'm not too sure. There wasn't a number or anything. They just called it, 'the Vault'. Even the Overseer was a strange one."

"... Where is this vault?"

"I'm not too sure. I got out of the vault, but got knocked out almost immediately by a radscorpian. Luckily a bunch of traders found me and brought me to their camp."

"Where are these traders now?"

The woman shook her head.

"Don't know. Parted with them quite some time ago."

"... Doesn't you pip-boy have a map?"

"Does, but most of its functions are offline after that hit with the radscorpian. The map lost most of its data of the vault, so don't bother asking."

She had a strange feeling that the data lost of no mere coincidence. However maybe this girl could be trusted.

"So, what brings you out of the vault?"

"I'm searching for my brother."

Wait, searching? Somehow this all sounds too familiar.

"Your brother?"

"Yes. He left without telling me anything. I had to leave the vault as well as the vault security began to act strangely. I thought it had something to do with my brother's disappearance, but maybe not."

This story was all too familiar, though she knew the feeling of losing somebody and going all out to search for them.

"So do you have any clues? Maybe i can help."

At that, the woman's smile broadened.

"Really? Thanks! you're the first person to actually extend their hand to help me."

"Well, the people of the wastelands are not too trusting. Survival of the fittest."

"I can see from the amount of firepower you're packing."

Okay, she's an exception. She's a gun freak, so it should be normal for her to have an armory worthy to rival a battlion of Enclave troops.

"So? Any clues?"

"Ah, yeah. I asked around, and i came across the name of someone who could help me. Apparently this person, or savior from the stories i constantly hear, lost somebody close to them as well and searched all over the wastelands and finally found their loved one."

Her mind froze. Why does this sound all too familiar as well?

"You can't mean-"

"I'm looking for the one they call the 'lone wanderer'. Do you know him?"


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: What the hell am i thinking? Oh wait, i'm not thinking at all.... i seriously need to change my life around.... or else i won't be able to graduate properly.... bah, what the hell.

* * *

She had to think fast. This woman, whoever she is, is looking for her. She had her fair share of enemies wanting to have her head blown into bits, and even if this person is a vault dweller, not knowing from which vault is dangerous. Could this woman be an assassin? It was hard to tell. For now, it would best to just get to the GNR to meet up with Sarah.

"Er... yeah, i know of the lone wanderer."

Well, in more ways than one, yes. She isn't lying, after all she is the fabled lone wanderer. The young woman's eyes lit up almost at once.

"Really? Can you tell me where he is?"

"Er.... i'm currently busy at the moment, so this would have to wait."

The woman's sudden vigour disappeared like a puff of smoke, her shoulder drooping down like a sad dog. It reminded her of Dogmeat. And with that kind of stance, it was hard for her to resist.

"... You can come along."

"Huh?"

"It would be easier to search if you went with somebody who knows the wastelands, right?"

The woman now lit up once more. The woman grabbed her arms and shook them profusely.

"Thank you! You're a very kind person! As expected, we vault dwellers must stick together!"

"Er... yeah, right. So, you know how to handle a gun?"

Although she didn't really need to ask, seeing how this woman dealt with all of these ghouls, but it was more to check her equipments. The woman took out a rather large pistol that looked like it could take out a ghoul just by using its sheer mass. She had two shotguns, a pump action in a holster strapped to her back and a sawed-off in a holster on her hip, and she had a hunting rifle with a scope attached slung around her arm. She had quite the collection.

"Hmm... alright... let's go."

She walked over to her bike, swining her leg over and starting its engine. The woman looked at the bike curiously, before taking a seat behind her.

"The name's Summers. Ashely Summers."

She extended a hand to the woman, who took it with a smile.

"Reds. Claire Reds."

"Claire... alright, hang on tight."

She did not even wait for Claire to reply as she gunned it, burning the tires into the ground and speeding off. Claire had good reflexes though, as she managed to wrap her arms around Ashely's waist before the latter sent the machine roaring off. Maybe to Claire, who had never ridden on a bike before, Ashely was going too fast, but to the vault kid, it was a sense of exhileration.

Feeling the wind rushing past her was like jet to junkies. It was simply irresistable. At her speed, she reached the next station in almost no time. She drove up a ramp to the platform, and pulled on the brakes. She checked her location on her pip-boy, and found that they were under the GNR. And it didn't sound like it was all too peaceful above ground.

"What's happening?"

Claire wondered out loud. Normally, Ashely wouldn't ask such a question. The answer was always plain and simple. A battle was occuring above ground. She checked her pistol and assault rifle, placing them in a position which would allow her to draw them quickly. She then drove the bike up the stairs, and going pass the ticket barrier without a break. As she neared the gate at the subway's entrance, she pulled out her pistol, firing a few shots at the lock. The shots hit their mark, and the lock shattered, allowing her bike to ram through the gate easily.

Once the bike hit the stairs, she pushed it to its max, sending the bike flying out of the subway, into a battle zone right outside the GNR. However, it wasn't Super Mutants who were invading the GNR. No. She knew those people. Their black armour was clearly unmistakenable. Enclave troops. And they brought their robot toys with them. The Brotherhood who were stationed at the GNR were hiding behind their make-shift bunkers, firing whenever they had a chance. She spotted the car, with Cross and Fawkes taking cover behind it and firing at the enemy as much as they were allowed to.

Well, now the battle was going to shift. She pulled the throttle, drawing her assault rifle as she headed straight for the Enclave line. The Enclave did not notice her till was too late, as her first target's helmet splintered and shattered with a hail of bullets. She drove through their defensive line, and heard a shotgun fire behind her. An Enclave troop fell shortly after with his head missing.

"You should warn me if you're going to charge straight into the enemy lines."

Claire grumbled, twirling her shotgun in her hand. Her shotgun gave a satisfying click as it reloaded, and Claire took aim, firing nearly right after she reloaded.

"I'll take care of the back. You deal with the front."

Claire swung her legs in one swift motion, and now she had her back against Ashely's. She fired another shot into another Enclave soldier, and drew her pistol and fired to her right without looking directly at the Enclave officer who wanted to shoot at her, but instead now had a hole in his chest. As for Ashely, she emptied her clip into an Enclave shock troop, who wore the special Tesla armour, and ejected the empty magazine. Using only one hand to steer as she tossed her rifle into the air, and catching its barrel, swinging the arm guard into the face of another Enclave troop as she sped past.

She swung the rifle to the side of her bike, where she had set extra clips to allow easy reload. The clip clicked into the rifle, and she tossed the rifle into the air, catching the handle and taking aim at her target, firing a burst of bullets into his armour. She caught a glint in the corner of her eye, and swerved just in time as a laser shot from one of the Enclave's mechanical troops came flying their way. She steadied her aim and fired a burst into the head of the robot. Circuits began to fry, but it was still operational. But at least it lost its targetting system.

"Claire! Drive!"

"What?!"

Before the other woman could say another word, Ashely jumped on top of the seat of the bike, and jumped off the bike into the air. Claire quickly swung her legs over and took control, if wobbling about was considered control. At least Claire managed to avoid getting hit. Ashely flipped through the air, firing shots whenever she could, before she landed on the ground. She rolled on the ground at the moment of impact to avoid pulverizing her bones, and when she rolled to her feet, she readied her rifle, and drew a switch knife from her boot.

Her eyes fell onto the robot who lost its head. She started off into a sprint, firing shots into Enclaves who appeared left and right, trying to stop her. At a few inches before the broken machine, she jumped over the robot, landing safely behind it. She turned and faced what sat on the machine's back. It's weapons system. Using her knife, she stabbed the cover of the circuit, and sparks flew.

The robot gave a high pitch sound, before its insides exploded, and smoke came flying from its body. A whistling sound echoed the battlefield, and the Enclave troops began to pull back. Claire drove the bike up to Ashely, but she couldn't control it too well when it stopped, and the bike dropped onto its side while Claire jumped out of harm's way.

"Er... sorry."

"No, it's my fault for getting you to drive it when you haven't driven before."

Ashely lifted the bike off its side, though she was already straining her muscles to do so. She didn't have much strength in the first place, so even getting this bike off its side was like moving a mountain for her.

"Yes, you handled it pretty well."

Ashely smiled, slotting her weapons back into its proper places. Pistol to her hip, rifle to the bike, knife to her boot.

"Ha ha, thanks, but i'm not doing that again."

"Fair enough."

"ASH!"

The two women turned as a group of heavily armed Brotherhood Knights came their way, led by one rather angry blonde woman.

"Hey, Sarah."

Ashely waved a little, till the sentinel reached Ashely, and started to shout and fume at the woman.

"You were being reckless again! What did i tell you?!"

"Er.... I don't think that counted as-"

"I don't care! What, you think anyone would just jumped around on their bikes, charging straight through enemy lines, flipping off enemies, stabbing them in close range?!"

"Erm...."

While Sarah continued to shout and nag at Ashely for not being more careful, Cross and Fawkes walked up to Claire, who was having her arm treated by a Brotherhood medic. Though it was just a scratch, the medic insisted that it be treated.

"Thanks for the help. We're friends with Summers."

Cross extended her hand to Claire, who looked at the armoured hand for a moment, before shaking it.

"Claire. Claire Reds. I met Ashely in the tunnels, though more like saved her before she was attacked by ghouls."

At that, Cross and Fawkes looked to each other awkwardly.

"Ghouls? Ashely would never have problems with them."

"Oh, she said she was taking medication or something."

"Medication.... oh, that one."

Cross nodded as she understood the situation.

"So, why would Summers ask you to come along?"

"I'm searching for my brother, and Ashely said she would help me look."

"A brother? Hmm, i guess Summers must have felt your pain."

"Pain?"

Claire looked up at that, unsure of what the paladin meant.

"Summers suffered a lost as well, her father went missing once, and shortly after she found him, he.... he died."

".... I see. Maybe i shouldn't have asked."

"It would have come out sooner or later. Besides, almost everyone in the wastelands knows about it. She is after our savior."

"Wait... savior?"

"Yes. If you tune into the GNR, you can hear all of her exploits, though how that man gets his hands on those information is beyond me. Just listen out for 'lone wanderer', or 'vault kid'. Three dog needs to call her by her name, yet he simply can't. I swear, that man has no tact, or brains for anything."

Claire stared at Cross, her mind processing what the paladin had just said.

"Wait a minute.... the 'lone wanderer'? You mean, Ashely is-"

"Hm? Yes. Ashely Summers is the 'lone wanderer', savior of the capital wastelands. Didn't you know?"

* * *

After Sarah's long lecture, to which Ashely had mentally blocked out most of, the group fell back into the GNR, pulling in the bodies and remains of ally and foe alike. Allies were give a quiet prayer, before being stripped bare. The bodies of the Enclave were more harshly treated, violently stripped bare, weapons taken, and anything of value stolen. Everything was to be used for the Brotherhood. Plasma weapons were something that the Brotherhood had been trying to duplicate, but to no avail.

So the Enclave still held the upper hand in technology. Ashely sighed, allowing herself to fall onto the hard matress of the bed in one of the extra rooms. Her ears were hurting from Sarah's non-stop speech on how she should take better care of her body and such. And if weren't for one of the Paladin's interruption, Sarah would have be still going on. A gentle knock on the door made her turn, and seeing who stood at the doorway, she smiled.

"You're lookin' down girl. Sarah bit a huge one outa you, huh?"

The dark skinned disc jockey of GNR stepped into the room, carrying two cups of smoking coffee, to which he passed one to the savior of the capital. Ashely thanked Three-dog, and sipped the coffee quietly. It's warm savoury liquid flowing down her throat made her feel much better. Three-dog pulled out a chair, sitting with his leg crossed facing her. His eyes studied the frail girl before him from behind those dark shades.

It felt like just yesturday to him, that she came in for the first time, looking lost, confused about a lot of things. But she was smart, like her father, and even without him telling her where her father went, she picked up James's trail almost immediately after leaving. Yet she still came back to help with his request. Of course, back then she already had enough knowledge of the wastelands to keep herself alive, but now as he looked at her, he had to wonder if it was really such a good thing.

She had a wearied face in place of her enthusiastic and curious look she held before, eyes that held so much life and brilliance now held nothing but pain and sorrow, her body had scars from all of her hard fought battles, it was hard to imagine that this woman was the same one who came in before. People change, and Three-dog knew that well. Yet it was somewhat disheartening to see her youthful and vibrant spirit be dulled by the harsh realities of the wastelands.

"... You're awefully quiet."

Her words broke his train of thought. Maybe he had been looking at her too intently and that she noticed. He leaned back in the chair, taking a large gulp of his coffee.

"You know kid, a lot of people have sent their thanks for you. You've done a lot for us in the capital. Don't you think you should give it a rest?"

She looked at Three-dog with a perculiar look on her face. It was hard to think what was going through her mind at that point, then she sighed, looking into her drink.

"Maybe.... maybe i should rest from adventuring and fighting. Yet it somehow doesn't seem right. Not when so many people still need my help. I can't turn away from them. And what my father had built, if i do not stand by and protect it, then what would happen?"

"Kid..."

"I know what you're saying, Three-dog. Madison and Sarah were saying the same things.... wanting me to rest, to let others do the work. But i somehow can't do that. I can't sit back and see others do what i should be doing."

She bit her lip, unsure of what she was saying anymore. Everything came out from her heart, but her ever-calculating mind could not comprehend what she was trying to put across. Yet Three-dog understood.

"Because the capital sees you as its savior, you feel the need to fulfill the expectations that people have placed upon you. Right? Let's not forget about how you wish to treasure the one thing James had worked so hard for. But take a step back for the moment. Does being perfect actually mean anything in this wasteland? Do you understand what you really need to do as a person? As Ashely Summers? Not as a savior, not as a vault kid, not as a hero. As a human being, do you know in your heart what it takes to live life?"

Ashely stayed silent, unsure of how to answer. But she knew that she would never have an answer to that. Her life had always been dictated by something, by someone, by expectations. In the vault, she followed rules and regulation. She followed her father's words, and the overseer's. When she came out, she wandered about aimlessly, feverishly looking for clues on her father.

When her father died, she lived for revenge, and a chance to complete her father's dream. And now? Now she had to find the remaining Enclave bases, and the source of the Super Mutants. But that did not mean living her life. Was that all to her life? Fighting? Nothing but fighting.

"I-.... i don't know...."

She finally muttered those words that she dread so much to say. She hated not knowing. It was like when she first stepped out from the vault. Everything was so open, so vast, and yet it held no immediate answers. It was like drowning in her own worries. Suffocating because there was nothing there. She gripped her chest, feeling a dull pain growing. She had never wanted to feel so helpless. Fighting had always seem to take it off. Because whenever she fought, she only had to think about the enemy and her own survival. Nothing more, nothing less. But that wasn't living. No one can live off fighting all of the time.

What would happen if all of this were to end? That thought scared her. What frightened her even more was the fact that she was afraid of peace. She realized what she had become. A beast hungry for battle. Three-dog felt like he said too much. Savior she may be, but she is still a simple girl who lost her father. Frail and easily broken, yet the world can never see just how frail her shoulders are as they pile on more of their hopes, dreams and expectations, till she can carry no more. He wouldn't want to see such an end. He stood up, shifting his shades further up the bridge of his nose.

"There is not need for some to know the answer immediately. Sometimes, it is only when they are doing it, that they realize that that is what their life is worth. Don't worry, you'll find it eventually. For now, just rest."

With that, the normally loud-mouthed disc jockey left her to her own thoughts. Ashely stared into her cup, looking at her own reflection from the cup's contents. She had changed so much from the time she left the vault. So much that she didn't know if she was looking at the same person. What she had wanted to do, it made her become, and now what it had left her with. Her ears perked at the sound of footsteps that stopped at her door.

"... Ashely? Can we talk?"

She looked up, seeing Claire standing there looking rather nervous about something. She placed her cup down on the table by the bed, deciding that drinking coffee was something she didn't need at the moment, before gesturing for Claire to enter.

"What do you want to talk about?"

She asked after Claire stepped inside the room, but did not take a seat. She did notice that Claire was figiting with her fingers. Was there something that this woman was unsure about?

"I.... i heard that you were the 'lone wanderer'."

Oh, that. She sighed, rubbing her temples with her hand. That title was one that the people simply placed upon her. Well, maybe it was more of Three-dog's influence.

"So you heard. And? I've already decided to help you with your search. Is there anything else you wanted to ask?"

".... Not really."

She studied Claire for a moment, before she reached into her pocket and pulled out a bloodied piece of paper. The vault map she found from the body bag at the mutant barricade. She threw the paper at Claire, who caught it and looked at it.

"Look familiar?"

"... Yes, this is a map of my vault, but how-"

"I found it on a corpse. It means that whatever happened to your vault, it's leading a lot of people to their deaths. It just so happened that i'm searching for Enclave bases and possible Mutant nesting grounds. Your vault may have clues to either, or both."

Claire seemed to understand everything she just said.

"Enclave? You mean those guys in black armour?"

"Yes."

"And you believe the Enclave may be connected to my vault? How?"

"The vaults were built by the previous government power in this country. However, after losing their standings, the government became known as the 'Enclave'. The vaults were experiments created to test and see different the outcome scenarios and situations. If your vault wasn't listed in the vault-tec database, then there must be something the Enclave must really want kept hidden within that vault."

"... I see. Well, i didn't notice anything awkward about my vault-"

"No one ever does. Yet it is there."

She felt her patience wearing thin, but kept her composure. Claire obviously hasn't been out in the wastelands long enough to know this much. But maybe it was just her curiousity that led her to find out so much.

"My vault was designed to test long term isolation, yet because of my father, the experiment failed. Another vault had been completely filled with clones of a single man, Gary. It is safe to say that that place won't be a very pleasant place to visit, even if any one of those clone still lives. Another vault was designed to test sleep hypnosis, and one was the actual breeding grounds for the super mutants in the capital wastelands. Every single vault as a key aspect to it. Yours does too."

Claire kept silent, unsure of what to say. Well, it is a lot to have these facts suddenly come up to your face. Ashely silent cursed herself for feeling so irritated and taking it out on Claire. Claire was missing her brother, not wanting an explaination for why the world was so twisted and warped. Yet she found out when she searched for her father. She sighed, shaking her head to clear her thoughts.

"Look, we need to do things one at a time. Get some rest for now. We'll move out at night."

* * *

A/N: It is hard to put a mental and emotional weakness into a character who is designed to be strong and toughened by the trials of the wastelands.... but i had to throw something in. Don't blame me for being random. Oh and brownie points for those who can guess who the new character is based off. You deserve gaming nerd award.


End file.
